Bonanzaville Main Street Tour

Explore a variety of buildings in Bonanzaville's Historic Village to gain an idea of what a town might have held on the frontier of early North Dakota!

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Bonanzaville Main Street Tour

West Fargo, North Dakota 58078, United States

Created By: North Dakota State University

Tour Information

This walking tour in the Pistoric Village explores buildings that represent a small town in North Dakota from 1890s. Stops on the tour include a train depot, barber shop, drug store, court house, and more. The tour explores the history of the buildings and the artifacts inside the buildings and how they are connected.


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What You'll See on the Tour

In July 1871, work began on railroad tracks in what would become Fargo, North Dakota. Nearly a year later the first train crossed the Red River from Moorhead into Fargo and opened up the Dakota Territory to the rest of the country. As the t... Read more
The U-R Next Barber Shop began life as the "City Tonsorial Parlor" and was built around 1900 in Buffalo, North Dakota. W.J. Frederick operated his parlor there until 1909, when he sold it to Lewis Easton, a law enforcement officer. Even tho... Read more
The Furnberg Store was built in 1899 by Christian and Johanna Furnberg in Osgood, North Dakota, about 4 miles south of West Fargo. General stores like the Furnberg were the Wal-marts of thier day, stocking everything from clothing, to groce... Read more
Built in 1989, this building is a replica of land office that once stood in Cogswell, North Dakota and was a project of the Bonanza Belles (an auxiliary group of Cass County Historical Society). Land offices and banks were important to the ... Read more
Bandstands that stood in town squares or parks were common in small towns in the 19th century and into the 20th. They were gathering places for townspeople, areas of entertainment, and centers of activity.  This bandstand is from Buffalo, ... Read more
This building originally served as the Hagemeister School #2, District 31, in Berlin Township from 1930-1956. After the school was moved to Bonanzaville it was used to house the original furnishings from the Cass County Courthouse from 19... Read more
The building was constructed in the early 1890s in Arthur, ND, costly approximately $1000. It held church services, dances, graduations, plays, basketball games, and movies. Minstrel shows were held annually and showcased singing, dancing, ... Read more
Blacksmiths in the pioneer days provided shoes for horses, wagon wheel rims, chains, and plows to thier communities, as well as items for the household, like latches, hinges, and wrought iron gates. Blacksmiths were valued members of their ... Read more
The Page Hotel and Brass Rail Saloon was built in 1889 in Page, ND. It offered comfortable sleeping quarters, meals, and live entertainment on the player piano. No alcohol was served in the saloon until the 1930s, because North Dakota ente... Read more
The Cass-Clay Creamery was founded during the Great Depression and managed to survive those challenging years and the years that followed. They are still in business toady. While most farmers were able to produce their own dairy products, a... Read more
The building that houses the drug store is from West Fargo and was not originally a drug store. It was purchased and donated by a pharmacist, David Olson of Fargo. The building was moved to Bonanzaville in 1975 and the contents inside the... Read more

 

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